Sanibel Island Causeway destroyed by Hurricane Ian - Drone assessment

Drone shows extensive damage to the Sanibel Island Causeway that connects Sanibel Island to Fort Myers, FL. The loss of the causeway could cut off the island for up to a year. Two spans are down on the causeway and the middle section of land based bridge is completely washed out with an even longer section badly damaged and underwashed.

[stevef]

Great flying. You know how to use a drone. For those of you wondering why he can't go further, two reasons. #1 The drone has a certain range and will warn and stop, #2 With these drones they have to fly them within LOS (Line of Sight) which means they need to be able to see the drone.

[ferretocious]

Wow. This was incredible. VERY chilling to see the destruction up close. AMAZING camera work! I especially loved that part towards the end where you paused then flew up to pivot to see the section of bridge that had caved in. Crazy control there!

[sjay]

In a couple of weeks, all that brown water will be crystal blue again.
In a few months, all of the rotting corpses will be found.
In several years, we’ll all be in love with Sanibel and Captiva again.

[cmonman]

Wow that is great drone footage, awesome job

[sethcourtemanche]

I'm amazed parts of the causeway are still intact while others are just gone

[icare]

The storm surge barrier wall totally failed and saving money by using the small sound sand bars as miniature islands for the roadway major mistakes.

They must remove all the submerged asphalt, exposed asphalt and rebuild a new elevated causeway bridge system the entire length from FT Meyers Beach to Sanibel Island.

The massive environmental cleanup is going to take years, the local shrimp and other fishing industry in the area destroyed for years as the water and land are deeply contaminated with oil, tar, diesel, fiber glass, asbestos, lead, pesticides, gasoline, glass, metal, PCBs, chemicals, latex, plastics, etc.

[Roaming]

As I kid you learn that a sandcastle on the beach gets washed away when the tide comes in. Turns out that if you lay 4 inches of asphalt on sand "islands" that they same thing happens. These were not solid immovable structures. Perhaps they need more bridge next build and less "sandcastle".

[stevef]

I know you are not a resident but if you do more video, we are trying to locate footage on the Sundial Resort which is where we stayed every year. I would assume most of it destroyed or seriously damaged.

[stephendoing]

The army Corp has everything to open travel to Sanibel.

[superseal]

When you build on barrier reefs and low lying shorelines, what is one to expect? Most humans are short sighted to the perils in which mother nature operates...yet we flock to the sea like flies to a flame.

[CHMichael]

These bridges are fairly new and built higher than the old one. I wonder what type of storm the were supposed to withstand?

[francisconavarro]

Asphalt is very thin maybe wow no wonder it washed away

[kingboagart]

Confucius say "woman who fly airplane upside down have hairy crack up"

[pmczapczara]

There hardly is enough sand above the water to even consider where a replacement causeway could exist.
Ferry service could be more appropriate.

[hartmutlorentzen]

The sea level is rising. Within 40 years Sanibel is gone
.

[yvettescavuzzo]

Have you gone on the other side of Bridge at the rv parks? Ft myers rv resort?

[sethcourtemanche]

So did water or floating debris destroy the causeway?

[chrismclean]

I drove the causeway a week ago… nature is unforgiving…

[dirtydinner]

A great reminder not to live on the coast. As the west loses water and the coasts continue to have more extreme disasters the Midwest is going to be a very attractive real estate market. Tornados are small potatoes compared to the disasters other regions in the US face.

[willowsloughdx]

Didn't make it all the way to Sanibel Island, did you?